Caltagirone

A city in colour

In Caltagirone, traditional pottery production is linked to a thousand-year-old history dating back to ancient times.
According to the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi the production of maiolica preceded the arrival of the Arabs, but we know for sure that their arrival in the 9th century increased production, thanks to the introduction of a new technique – glazing – which made the pottery waterproof and more resistant.
A few centuries later, during the Spanish rule of Alfonso of Aragon, pottery trade had greatly developed and allowed artisans to sell their ceramics all over the island.
Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1693 interrupted the potters’ activity and destroyed many of the floors made with the maiolica of Caltagirone.
Today some of the fragments are preserved in the Museum of Ceramics.
foto facciata museo  dei vasi fuori il museo
After the earthquake, decorative motifs were replaced in order to make trade flourish again. In the 19th century, however, with the introduction of cement, the production of maiolica stopped.
The potters’ centuries-old activity ended when the last master potters disappeared in the 1930s.
In 1918 Don Luigi Sturzo founded the Istituto d’Arte della Ceramica (Institute of Ceramic Art) and saved a tradition that seemed destined to be lost. In 1965 the Museum of Ceramics was inaugurated, a safe place that preserved and protected a priceless cultural heritage.
foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The Baroque town by the sea

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

A triumph of colour

The façade used as a puppet theatre

Feast days

A new site for a new church

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo

A colourful floor

Some prestigious works

A new site for a new city

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

The internal colours

Searching for colour

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

The theatre of taste

Prominent façade

Many owners, one palace

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Modica, a city with ancient origins

The interior and its masterpieces

Limestone, the colour of harmony

The Maiolica of the staircase

A majestic and luminous church

A museum to save a tradition

A hall for the feasts

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

A talking palace

A long reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

The two churches

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The city of museums

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A feast only for Scicli

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

An eagle-shaped city

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

A prominent church

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

Two illustrious patron saints

Norman apses

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

A half-Baroque church

The disastrous earthquake

The church of Carmine

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

A symbol for the town

The Staircase of Angels

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

One city, two sites

Feasting in Palazzolo

Discovering the mother church

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Some masterpieces

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

One city, three sites

A miniature city

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

A square as the heart of the city

The Burgos crucifix

Wonderful quick decorations

From International Gothic to present day

The wall comes to life

A small room with a golden entrance

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

The chocolate of Modica

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

A Nobel Prize in Modica

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

New roads for Catania

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

A city in colour

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

The colours of the cathedral

Between white and black

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata